Transcriptional profiling of liver in riboflavin-deficient chicken embryos explains impaired lipid utilization, energy depletion, massive hemorrhaging, and delayed feathering

A strain of Leghorn chickens (rd/rd), unable to produce a functional riboflavin-binding protein, lays riboflavin-deficient eggs, in which all embryos suddenly die at mid-incubation (days 13-15). This malady, caused by riboflavin deficiency, leads to excessive lipid accumulation in liver, impaired β-oxidation of lipid, and severe hypoglycemia prior to death.